Inside Figure Skating...

Tension builds for Rachel, a Russian-American training for the Nagano Olympic Games.

What will it take to medal?

And will she ever see her father again?

Natalya Alexandrovna has good reason to write figure skating fiction. She's a real live elite figure skater. At the time this story was written, Natalya (not her real name, of course) skated in the Junior division of the Pacific Section. If that doesn't impress you, how many eighth graders have you ever met who've written a novel? Maybe it's not great literature, but it is a fun bit of wish-fulfillment.

For ages 13 and up.

Need to read offline? Want to print Flying out? Buy the ebook for only $3!

Chapter 1:	Early Morning	Chapter 22:	Favoritism
Chapter 2:	Ice Tracings	Chapter 23:	"I like you, Theresa."
Chapter 3:	Working Together	Chapter 24:	Mistakes Can Turn Out For the Best
Chapter 4:	The Russian Six	Chapter 25:	A String of Surprises
Chapter 5:	Back to Dr. Calisch	Chapter 26:	A Long Distance Confrontation, or Facing Reality
Chapter 6:	Dancing Dreams	Chapter 27:	The Silver Lining
Chapter 7:	A White Christmas	Chapter 28:	Blocks and Compulsories
Chapter 8:	A New Face and a Gold Medal	Chapter 29:	Two Minutes, Forty Seconds
Chapter 9:	Maria, Maria, Maria	Chapter 30:	History Repeats Itself
Chapter 10:	Interruptions at the rink	Chapter 31:	Sharing Four Revolutions With the World
Chapter 11:	Dinner, not a Date	Chapter 32:	Pride and Prejudice
Chapter 12:	Runthroughs	Chapter 33:	Tango
Chapter 13:	An Unwelcome Distraction	Chapter 34:	A Sweet Victory
Chapter 14:	A Secret Visit	Chapter 35:	Memories
Chapter 15:	A Crack in the Glass Vase	Chapter 36:	Short Program
Chapter 16:	Forgiving Alexei	Chapter 37:	"It's Always Going to Be There..."
Chapter 17:	Repairing the Vase	Chapter 38:	Great Expectations
Chapter 18:	Stepping Stones	Chapter 39:	Last Minute Touches
Chapter 19:	Mental Preparations	Chapter 40:	Golden
Chapter 20:	Fainting Spells	Chapter 41:	Aftermath
Chapter 21:	Opening the Games	Chapter 42:	Exhibiting the Winners

Figure Skaters—Irina Slutskaya

Figure Skating Facts, history, and trivia about the people, places and personalities that makes figure skating so cool.

Russia's Irina Slutskaya was the dominant figure skater of the 2004-2005 season. She captured her fourth national title, her sixth European title, and her second world title. She also won the Grand Prix Final.

Slutskaya has been coached since age 6 by Zhanna Gromova. Ballet has been part of her training from early on. Her great flexibility enables her to do moves such as the Biellmann spin with a foot change. She also is known as a strong jumper and was the first woman to land a triple Lutz-triple loop combination in competition.

In 1996, Slutskaya became the first Russian woman to win the European title. (The best female skaters in the former Soviet Union were usually directed towards pairs or ice dancing.) She also medaled for the first time at the World Championships that year, taking home a bronze.

Slutskaya placed fifth at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. She won the silver medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Some Russians felt that she was misjudged in the free skate and should have won the gold over American Sarah Hughes. Nothing came of the protest. She went on to win her first world championship that year shortly after the Olympics.

Health problems have plagued Slutskaya in recent years. She missed most of the 2003-2004 season because of vasculitis. She did, however, compete at the World Championships and placed ninth. While the outcome may not sound impressive in the record-books, it was a major triumph for a woman who some doubted would ever be able to skate at the elite level again.

—Beth Braccio Hering

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Figure Skating fiction, serials, stories, novels, humor, and poetry at Private Ice!

Inside Figure Skating...

Figure Skaters—Irina Slutskaya